


Conference

by Thestruggleismelon



Series: Star Wars Modern AU [64]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types
Genre: Another work inspired by a couple different prompts, F/M, Trying to decide if I should include a neurodiverse charactef, i think it would add some depth to them but idk
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-15
Updated: 2020-04-19
Packaged: 2021-02-28 20:48:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,012
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23153512
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Thestruggleismelon/pseuds/Thestruggleismelon
Summary: Anakin and Padmé sit down with their twins teacher to chat about their progress and behaviors at school. And run into a couple familiar faces at the same time
Relationships: Obi-Wan Kenobi/Satine Kryze, Padmé Amidala/Anakin Skywalker
Series: Star Wars Modern AU [64]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1496909
Comments: 16
Kudos: 40





	1. Chapter 1

Padmé sighed after she hung up the phone and returned to the dinner table. 

“Who was that?” Anakin asked, feeding Jim some mashed potatoes between bites of his own meal. 

“That was Luke and Leia’s teacher,” Padmé said, glancing at her four year-old twins, “she was asking when would be a good time to meet with her to discuss their behavior at school.” Leia suddenly became very interested in her plate of food and avoided eye contact with her brother. 

“Why? She hasn’t mentioned anything to me when I pick them up,” Anakin said, getting up to refill his glass of water. “The only misbehavior I’ve heard about is when Leia hit the class bully that was picking on Luke and I told her that she shouldn’t have done that.” 

“Eat, Julie. Why didn’t you tell me about that?” She asked her husband as he sat back down between the two younger kids. 

He shrugged, “I had it handled, so I didn’t think it was necessary to tell you.” He took a drink of water and spoke again. “Isn’t it normal for a teacher to want to confer with parents on how their kid is doing? Perhaps they didn’t get into trouble at all.” 

“Yeah, but she said that there has been a problem with Leia and one other student.” Anakin looked at the twins, Luke looked like he was on the verge of tears and Leia kept her eyes down.

“Guys, is there something you want to tell us?” Anakin asked carefully. Still keeping his gaze on Leia. “Is the bully still picking on Luke?” 

“Yes, Daddy,” Luke whispered, “and I tell him to leave me alone, but he doesn’t. And then I walk away and go play with Biggs and…and he follows me and then LeLe tells him to go away and he doesn’t and starts pickin’ on her so I pull LeLe to play with me and tell Jaden to leave us alone and he doesn’t so LeLe hit him.” 

Padmé glanced at Anakin, concern flashing across her face. “Luke, it’s okay, son. There’s no need to cry. Thank you for telling us, Bear. Daddy and I will discuss it with Mrs. Phillips but you guys know that it’s not nice to hit people right?”

“But he wouldn’t leave us alone!” Leia protested. “We told him to go away and he didn’t!” 

“Okay, okay, next time he’s picking on you, just ignore him. If you respond, it gives him fuel to add to the fire, I promise it will be okay, kids.” Anakin lifted Jim out of the high chair and propped him against his hip. “If you’re all done eating, it’s bath time for four little monkeys, and then we’re gonna get ready for bed.” 

“I’ll get the table cleared off with the girls and then we can switch?” Padmé asked, pulling Julie’s chair back to let her get down. 

“I don’t want to take a bath!” Luke argued, stamping his foot and crossing his arms over his chest. 

“Go, I’ll handle him, take Julie and we’ll bathe the little ones together tonight,” Padmé said, picking up the dirty plates and setting them on the counter. “Luke, baby, come talk to me, love.” Luke shuffled over, gazing at Threepio sniffing around the table for scraps. 

“Luke, are you okay, son? You seem sad.” Padmé knelt down and put her hands on his upper arms in case he needed a hug. 

“I don’t know, Momma. I don’t want Leia to get in trouble, but I don’t want Jaden messing with me all the time!” 

“Are you liking preschool a little more than the beginning of the year?” 

“Not really.” 

“Why?” Luke shrugged and kept his gaze on the floor. “Is it because of this boy?” Threepio trotted over and nudged his nose under Luke’s hand. 

“Yeah,” Luke whispered, tears splashing onto his shirt as he ran his hand through Threepio’s fur. “He makes fun of me because I cried on the first day and that LeLe always comes to help me. But LeLe yells at people who pick on Gracie, too.”

“Oh, babe, it’s alright. Daddy and I will talk to Mrs. Phillips about the mean boy, okay?” Padmé scooped him into a hug and let him cry on her shoulder. “I love you, Lukey Bear.”

“Love you, too, Mommy.” 

“Okay, go get your jammies and we’ll take a quick bath and read a story before bed, alright?” Padmé kissed his head and wiped the tears off of his face. “Do you want me to give you a bath or Daddy?” 

“Daddy,” he mumbled. “I want you to read the story, though.” Padmé grinned and kissed his head again. 

“I can do that for you, bud.” She released him to go and get ready for his bath as she cleaned the kitchen up, mulling over what Luke told them. 

Once her husband had bathed all of the kids, gotten them dressed and a story had been read, they tucked the children into bed. 

“Sleep tight, buddy,” Anakin whispered, smoothing the covers over Luke’s tiny body. “Got your lion? Alright. I love you.” He planted a kiss on his head and switched with Padmé to tuck Leia in. 

“Daddy? What if Luke and I get kicked out of preschool?” Leia asked, twirling her puppy’s ear in her fingers. 

“You won’t baby,” he soothed, kissing her forehead. “Mrs. Phillips just wants to tell us how you’re doing in school.” 

“Okay, good night, King Daddy.” Anakin smiled and kissed her head again. 

“Good night, Princess Leia.” She flipped over and closed her eyes. Anakin and Padmé left the room, checked on the two younger ones before going back to the living room to finish cleaning up before they went to bed as well. 

“You okay?” Anakin asked as he folded a blanket to throw over the back of the couch. “You seem troubled.”

Padmé shrugged, picking up the blocks Luke had been entertaining Jim with. Anakin straightened the play table and reset the plastic teapot that Julie and Leia had been using as “a method of interrogation” against Julie’s stuffed turtle and Luke’s GI Joe action figures. “We gotta stop watching crime shows in front of the kids. Leia was too much for me tonight.”

“Luke said he doesn’t like preschool because of this Jaden boy,” Padmé whispered at last, looking back at her husband. “I just…I want to know how he’s getting away with it.” She scuffed the floor with her toe and kept her gaze downward. 

“We can ask at our conference tomorrow, okay? Try not to worry,” Anakin said, picking up Threepio’s toys and chucking them in the bucket they kept for the dog toys. The dog’s nails clicked on the floor as he trotted into the room, nudging Padmé’s hand with his nose like he did with Luke. “Something else is bugging you, though. Talk to me, we can figure it out.” He crossed the room in three strides and placed his hands on her shoulders. 

“I’m not sure how to phrase it, yet. Once I know exactly what I need from you, I’ll let you know, okay?” She looked up at him and ran her thumb over his jaw as she cupped his cheek. 

“I love you,” he whispered, kissing her nose. 

“Love you, too,” she whispered back finally looking down at the dog begging for her attention. “Yes, dummy. I love you, too,” she sighed, scratching Threepio’s head. 

“Is it work that’s bothering you?” Anakin asked, flopping down on the couch now that the living room looked semi-presentable. 

“Yeah, I love the job and the people, it’s just getting…political.” Anakin hummed and nodded. Everything seemed to be getting political now. 

“But you’re more worried about Luke aren’t you?” Padmé sat down next to him, pulling her feet up on the couch and curling up next to him. 

“Yes,” she said. “I thought he was liking it more than he was before, but because of this Jaden he doesn’t like it.” 

“He’s probably repeating what he hears his parents say about us at home. And I’ve already explained to Leia why she shouldn’t hit him but they won't tell me what he says to them to make Leia angry.” He combed his fingers through her hair. “We’ll talk to their teacher about it alright, sweetheart? I’m going to take Threepio out and take a shower. I’ll meet you in bed, okay?” 

Padmé nodded and went upstairs to get changed and check on the children again. 

The next day, Padmé left work early, and met her husband at school. “Hey, how was your day?” He asked as she got out of the car. 

“Alright, I missed you,” she whispered as she stood on tiptoe to kiss him. 

“I missed you, too,” Anakin said, looping an arm around her waist, walking toward the door with her. They walked in comfortable silence and stepped to the side as they ran into a familiar face exiting the building. 

“Oh, hello, Rush. Do you have a kid in school as well?” Padmé asked as Anakin’s fingers tightened on her hip. 

“Padmé, good to see you! Yeah, I’ve got a boy in here. Just started this year, actually. His name is Jaden,” Rush Clovis said, holding the door open for them. 

“Oh, that’s funny, we’ve got twins in the same class as a boy named Jaden.” Anakin’s fingers flexed again. “Relax, Anakin. It was good to see you Rush, we should catch up sometime.” Anakin glowered as they shook hands and Rush’s fingers lingered a little too long. 

“We should! See you later?”

“Yeah, see you.” Padmé nudged her husband and he mumbled a good-bye as he held the door open for her. “Will you relax? I’ve told you multiple times, I’m not going to leave you for him!” 

“I’m not worried about that! He said his kid’s name was Jaden. I can’t ignore that his kid is picking on ours.”

“Anakin, don’t jump to conclusions. It might be a coincidence.” 

“Yeah, and people in hell want ice water.” Padmé swatted his arm. 

“Put your stupid rivalry aside for the next 25 minutes and focus on our children.” She kissed his cheek, and knocked on the door to the classroom. 

“Hello, Mr. and Mrs. Skywalker, good to see you both again,” Mrs. Phillips said, shaking both of their hands. “Please, come in and have a seat, I’ve been looking forward to meeting with you.” 

“So have we,” Padmé said, taking a seat, “I hope that Luke and Leia haven’t been too rowdy.”

“Oh, they’ve been good, except we’ve had a few incidents with Leia and another student. And Luke is a very sweet boy.” Mrs. Phillips ran a hand through her hair, and Anakin leaned back in the children’s chair, stretching his legs out a little bit. 

“Yeah, I’ve already had a talk with Leia about hitting people,” he sighed, “she, well, Luke told us about an incident that happened yesterday.” 

“Leia has struck the other boy multiple times, despite her brother and cousins’ pleas. Other than her scuffles with Jaden,” Anakin shot his wife a pointed look, “she’s very bright. There’s nothing Leia can’t accomplish at this point in her development. She’s made a lot of friends, and has established herself as the protector of the four Skywalkers, your niece seems to worship the ground she walks on.” 

Padmé laughed, “yeah, Anakin’s brother and I joke about that a lot. But I’m glad that Leia is doing well. What about Luke?” 

Mrs. Phillips sighed, “Luke is like I said a sweet boy, he’s just as bright as his sister and cousins, but he’s had…trouble socializing some days. When he first started, he would often sit by the books there, and…watch the other kids. He didn’t want to play with others, he liked the Tonka trucks and would spin the wheels with his fingers. Then, when Biggs, his friend started, he allowed him to sit next to him and they would whisper and giggle with each other and that’s when the incidents with Jaden started. Jaden would call them names, some of them I’m surprised a four-year-old would know, and are unrepeatable.” Anakin nudged Padmé with his elbow, a triumphant smirk appearing on his face. 

“I’m concerned Luke may be on the spectrum. He’s shown other signs, but they’re not as consistent as always being off to the side.” 

Padmé’s eyebrows creased. “What do you mean? You think Luke has autism?” The teacher nodded. 

“Or could he be self-isolating because of the incidents?” Anakin asked, grasping his wife’s hand. 

“It maybe because of the incidents, but we won’t know for sure until after the holidays. I’ve taken the liberty of getting you some information on Autism Spectrum Disorder for you to look at and discuss. And I’ve spoken to Jaden’s father about everything as well.” A knock on the door startled all three of them. Padmé recovered first, reaching her hand out to shake Mrs. Phillips’s hand and take the pamphlet from her. 

“Thanks for talking with us, Mrs. Phillips. We’ll be in touch about our next steps.” Ben opened the door, deciding to mess with Anakin for a few seconds. 

“Hey, little brother, did she tell you Luke was failing?” He asked, bumping his fist into Anakin’s shoulder. 

“No, nerd, she told me that Jason likes to lick the tables and Gracie wears her shoes on her hands.” 

“You did those things growing up,” Ben said, playfully shoving Anakin. 

“Eat my shorts.” 

“Sorry about our husbands,” Satine said, a light blush appearing on her cheeks, “honestly, they’re both mature adults.”

“Ani, we should get going, we’ve got things to talk about,” Padmé said, rolling her eyes at her husband. 

“Oh, I do have a question,” Anakin said, stepping away from Ben. “Was Jaden’s father here before us?” 

“Yeah, Councilman Clovis, why? Do you know him?” 

“Oh, just in case we decide to talk about the issues between our children we know who to contact,” Anakin lied smoothly, putting his arm around Padmé’s shoulders and leading her from the room. They walked in silence as they left, only speaking when Padmé fished the car keys out of her purse. “I knew it.” 

“You guessed.”

“The only other person in this town that hates us is in prison for vehicular homicide! And that’s because Sebulba had a drinking problem at the age of 16!” 

“Anakin, we are not going to discuss it, get in the car.” She registered what he said as he got in the car, “how the hell do you know that?”

”Ben was the arresting officer,” Anakin shrugged, “he called me after everything calmed down and said Sebulba confessed to all of his charges and tried to plead for insanity because of his alcoholism and he got denied.”

”You gossip with Ben more than Solá and I do in a year,” Padmé scolded

”Not my fault your sister doesn’t have an interesting job,” he shrugged again. Padmé drove them home and he could see the wheels turning in her head. 

“I’m sorry,” he whispered. “I didn’t mean to aggravate you, I…I’m upset that Clovis.…is still talking about you when you made it very clear that you weren’t going to go out with him. He’s just…”

“Vile?” Padmé provided as she pulled into the driveway. “I know. You’re trying to protect me and it’s cute, but we’re all adults now. And Leia is picking fights to protect her brother and it makes me proud to see one of our kids acting like you, but I…I’m worried about Luke now.”

“He’ll be alright,” Anakin muttered, slipping his left hand into her right. “He’s a tough kid. But let’s look over that,” he tapped the pamphlet that Padmé clutched in her hand, “keep an eye on him, talk to Dr. Bonteri, and then we can decide, okay?” 

Padmé nodded, squeezed his hand, and smiled up at him. “Everything will be okay, I promise.” She kissed his knuckles and got out of the car. Whatever happens will happen and they’ll face it together. 


	2. Chapter 2

“Thanks for watching them, Mom,” Anakin said as Shmi packed her things up to go home.

“Oh, I don’t mind at all. I love watching them. How was the conference?” Anakin shrugged, avoiding eye contact with her. 

“It was alright, I guess. Mrs. Phillips said that Leia was the protector of the four of them and that there’s nothing holding back her development, and that she needs to control her temper around the class bully.” Shmi smiled. Leia inherited her grandfather’s tolerance for bullies and her father’s need to protect everybody. 

“Yeah? I knew a little boy who needed to do that too,” she laughed, leaning against the wall, and crossing her arms over her chest. “How’s Luke doing? He seems to have warmed up to going to school.” 

Anakin sighed and glanced to where the children were playing with Padmé. 

“He’s…Well…” he sighed again, “Mrs. Phillips said that he’s a sweet boy. We knew that, just look at him playing with the baby. He’s gentle and wants to make sure he’s included and having fun,” Shmi followed her son’s eyeline to the kids. Luke was indeed holding James on his lap and telling him a story to go along with the picture book he held. 

“Mom, she thinks he’s got Autism. I think the bully is making him protect himself and stay out of the way, but we don’t know for sure. We can’t do anything until after the holidays, and then we have to observe his habits and behaviors and talk with the doctor,” Anakin ran a hand through his hair. “I don’t know what to do, Momma. I wish dad was here to help me.” He sat at the kitchen table and put his head in his arms, trying to keep himself from spiraling any further. 

“I know, sweetheart. I wish your father was here to advise you too. Anakin, would you stop loving him if he was gay?” She asked, taking a seat next to her son and running a hand through his hair. 

“No,” he mumbled, resting his chin on his arms. 

“If he is on the spectrum, will you stop loving him?” 

“No.”

“Then you’re doing just fine! He’s a little boy, so what if he’s not the most social? You weren’t and Ben wasn’t exactly a social butterfly either. Your sister…was a handful so the one you’re going to have to worry about is Jim. But Ani, my point is that you’re a great dad. You taught him to distance himself from the bully, you taught him that it’s okay if he needs a little space.” Her hand drifted down to rub the tension from his shoulders. “Luke is a tough cookie. You and Padmé will figure it out. Now, I’ve got to go and make sure Artoo hasn’t knocked over the trash can again, call me if you have any other worries, alright?” 

“Okay, mom. Love you,” Anakin whispered, standing from his chair and pulling her in for a hug. 

“Love you, too,  _ Papito _ . Okay little ones, Mimi has to go! Come give me hugs and kisses!” Three sets of footsteps pounded across the floor, running to give their grandmother a hug. “Bye-bye! I love you all! Be good for Mommy and Daddy and I’ll see you on Sunday for dinner!” She kissed everybody’s head one last time and left the house. 

“Did Mimi feed you dinner?” Padmé asked, pushing Luke’s hair out of his eyes. 

“Yeah! We had sammiches!” Luke chirped, watching Threepio beg Leia for attention. “Jim didn’t though. He had baby food.”

“Okay, then the girls can go play for a little bit before bedtime. Daddy and I want to talk to you for a second, Bear.” The girls scampered off, giggling as they went back to their game. 

“Come here, pal, you’re not in any trouble. Mommy and I are a little worried because Mrs. Phillips said you don’t like to play with the others.” Anakin lifted Luke onto his lap and held him as Padmé held James in and sat in the chair chair across from him. “Why don’t you like playing with the other kids?”

Luke shrugged, his gaze fixed on the wooden table grain. 

“Do the boys play a little too rough?” Padmé asked, reaching for Luke’s pudgy hand. “You can tell us. We want to help.” 

“Sometimes,” Luke whispered, “but I like playing alone. It’s quieter and sometimes Leia plays with me. And Jay and Grace.” 

“Okay, that’s okay. Are the other boys and girls too wild and loud?” Anakin asked, patting Luke’s back. 

“Yeah. It can get really loud. Louder than parties at Gramma and Grandpa’s!” James squealed and patted his hands on the table top. “Dad, can I go play?”

“One more question,” Padmé said, grasping one of James’s hands in hers. “Luke, what has Jaden said to Leia to make her so angry?” 

“He’s said mean things to me. He makes fun of me when I hide when it gets too loud, and says that Leia shouldn’t be wearing my shirts, because they’re boys' shirts. But sometimes, Daddy gets out two of my shirts instead of one of mine and one of Leia’s.” Padmé looked at her husband, arching her eyebrow. 

“Okay, listen. I’m not a morning person. You knew that when you married me.” 

“Is there more mean things?” Padmé asked, turning her attention back to Luke. 

“Yeah. He’s said things about you and daddy. That Daddy married you because he wants your money, but I don’t get it. Daddy always pays for things, so it’s his money. And then that if daddy knew better, he wouldn’t have hacked up with a girl like you. But I don’t get that either, you’re very nice, Mommy.” 

Anakin forced himself to smile at Luke’s praise for his mother, despite the anger welling up in his chest. “Thank you for telling us, son. You can go play now.” He kissed Luke’s cheek and set him down. 

They were quiet for a moment, digesting what they’d just heard. Padmé spoke first, a tight smile appearing on her face. “Well, at least he got one part of our relationship right. I do make more money than you,” she said, laughing hollowly at the end. “And he didn’t repeat any slurs about our different faiths. Ani, we should talk to Clovis about this. Our children shouldn’t be forced to hear things said about us.” 

“I am not after your money. And of course you make more than me! You’re a doctor and a fucking good one! I’m a mechanic and I’m good at that! It’s not like I married you  _ because _ you were making more money!” He crossed his arms over his chest and pouting. 

“Okay Smartass, why did you marry me?” 

“Because I love you! Because you’re smart, funny, and you’re cute, and you understand me.” 

“I know, I was messing with you. It doesn’t sound like Luke is on the spectrum to me, it sounds more like he’s avoiding bullies.”

“Honey, we should keep our options open. It could be both, kids can be mean.” Anakin reached across the table to grasp her hand. “But I think that we should still keep an eye on him, make notes on that pamphlet and ask the doctor about it at his next appointment, okay? We’ll love him no matter what. Mrs Phillips said he was a sweet boy.” 

Padmé squeezed his hand and smiled weakly at him. “Yeah. I think that’s his Daddy coming out in him. I’m just…”

“Unsure about the next steps?”

“Yeah,” she glanced down at their entwined fingers, “I love you.” He smiled softly at her and squeezed her hand. 

“Love you, too. Now, let’s get these little monkeys to bed. It’s past their bedtime and we haven’t had any Mommy-Daddy time in a long time.” Padmé rolled her eyes and let Anakin take the baby from her and carry him up the stairs.


End file.
